Keighley railway station

Keighley railway station serves the town of Keighley in West Yorkshire, England.

Keighley
Northern Class 333 on Platform 1
Location
Place	Keighley
Local authority	City of Bradford
Coordinates	53.8679°N 1.9011°W / 53.8679; -1.9011
Grid reference	SE066413
Operations
Station code	KEI
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2 (National Rail) + 2 (K&WVR)
DfT category	C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	1.721 million
2015/16	1.703 million
2016/17	1.705 million
2017/18	1.665 million
2018/19	1.623 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Zone	4
History
Original company	Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
16 Mar 1847	Opened (north of road bridge)[1]
6 May 1883	Relocated (south of road bridge)[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Keighley from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

First opened in March 1847 by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway (although rebuilt on the present site in 1883),[1] the station is located on the Airedale Line 17 miles (27 km) north west of Leeds. It is managed by Northern, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it. Electric trains operate frequently from Keighley towards Bradford Forster Square, Leeds and Skipton. Longer distance diesel trains on the Leeds to Morecambe Line and Settle to Carlisle Line also call here.

Keighley is also the northern terminus of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. This is a heritage branch-line railway run by volunteers that was originally built by the Midland Railway and opened in 1867. Closed to passenger traffic in 1962, it was reopened by the K&WVR Preservation Society six years later and is now a popular tourist attraction. Trains on the former GNR lines to Bradford and Halifax via Queensbury also served the station from 1882 until closure in May 1955.

The Airedale Line runs from platforms 1 and 2 and Keighley and Worth Valley railway operate from platforms 3 and 4.

The Keighley and Worth Valley service runs daily during the summer and at weekends in other seasons, but has resisted offers to introduce a true commuter service in conjunction with the local authority. It has a connection to the Airedale Line (via sidings) just north of the Bradford Road bridge for rolling stock transfers and occasional visits by charter trains.

From 1892 to 1909 the Midland Railway operated a second station on the Airedale line a short distance from Keighley Station at Thwaites. There is now no visible trace of this station having ever existed.

Facilities

The National Rail side of the station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open seven days a week (except evenings). Train running information is provided via a P.A system, posters and digital information screens. A waiting room is available on platform 1 and shelters on platform 2. Step-free access to both platforms from the main entrance is via ramps from the road above, whilst platform 1 also has level access from Dalton Lane.[2]

The K&WVR has its own ticket office and access ramps from the shared main entrance to platforms 3 and 4. They also have a refreshment stand and bookstall on platform 4, which is open when the railway is operating.[3]

Services

Northern Trains Route 7: Bentham & Settle to Carlisle Lines
Carlisle Armathwaite Heysham Port Lazonby and Kirkoswald Morecambe Langwathby Bare Lane Appleby Lancaster Kirkby Stephen Carnforth Garsdale Wennington Dent Bentham Ribblehead Clapham Horton-in-Ribblesdale Giggleswick Settle Long Preston Hellifield Gargrave Skipton Keighley for Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Bingley Shipley Leeds

During Monday to Saturday daytimes, there is a half-hourly service to both Leeds and Bradford Forster Square in one direction and four trains an hour towards Skipton in the other. In the evenings there is a half-hourly service to Leeds, an hourly service to Bradford Forster Square and three trains per hour to Skipton.[4]

On Sundays there is an hourly service to Leeds and to Bradford with two per hour to Skipton. The new Northern franchise agreement (starting in April 2016) included provision to increase the Bradford service to hourly from its former two-hourly frequency, and this occurred at the December 2017 timetable change.

There are also a number of trains each day from Leeds to Carlisle (eight on weekdays and six on Sundays) and Lancaster (seven on weekdays with five extended to Morecambe, and five on Sundays) - both routes are operated by Northern.[5]

There is also a daily service from Skipton to London King's Cross (via Leeds) that calls (except Sundays), which is operated by London North Eastern Railway. A return service also operates from King's Cross to Skipton - this runs all week, including Sundays and calls to set down only.

The Keighley and Worth Valley service runs daily during the summer and at weekends in other seasons.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Shipley		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line (Limited service)		Skipton
Crossflatts		Northern Airedale Line		Steeton and Silsden
Bingley		Northern Leeds-Morecambe Line		Skipton
Bingley		Northern Settle-Carlisle Line		Skipton
	Heritage railways
Ingrow (West)		Keighley and Worth Valley Railway		Terminus
	Disused railways
Ingrow (East)		Great Northern Railway Queensbury Lines		Terminus
	Historical railways
Thwaites		Midland Railway Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway		Steeton and Silsden

Filming

The station was featured in the Head & Shoulders advert "Don't break up with your hair" in early 2009. The advert uses the platform that serves the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, notable for the period features that it has retained over the years.[6]

The station was most famously used in the filming of the film Yanks (1979) and in the Pink Floyd film, The Wall (1982). It was most recently used in the filming of Peaky Blinders, a BBC television drama about criminals in Birmingham just after the First World War.[7]

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. p.128
2. Keighley station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 1 December 2016
3. Newsagents and Refreshment Kiosk at Keighley Station Dixon, David Geograph.org; Retrieved 1 December 2016
4. GB National Rail Timetable December 2017 Edition, Table 36
5. Table 42 National Rail timetable, May 2019
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. Rahman, Miran. "Filming starts at Keighley & Worth Valley Railway". Keighley News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

• PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Geoffrey Body (1988) Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1
• Railways Through Airedale & Wharfedale Martin Bairstow (2004) ISBN 1-871944-28-7

External links

• Train times and station information for Keighley railway station from National Rail